In May of 2004 I attended my first Barter Faire ever, in Curlew,
Washington. Sponsored by the Veterans for Peace, I arrived as
far north as I had ever been in America. I came to tell the
people of Eastern Washington that depleted uranium needs to be
dealt with. I had a wonderful visit, met wonderful people, and
made wonderful friends. Thank you, Eastern Washington, for
receiving me so nicely.

A year prior to my visit, in its May issue, Environmental
Magazine informed the world that, "Since the U.S. military's
widespread use of DU (Depleted Uranium, U238) in the Gulf became
known in 1991, the Pentagon has struggled to suppress mounting
evidence that DU munitions are simply too toxic to use. It has
cashiered or attempted to discredit its own experts, ignored
their advice, impeded scientific research into DU's health
effects and assembled a disinformation campaign to confuse the
issue." Two months later the Seattle Post Intelligencer stated,
"The Pentagon and the United Nations estimate that the U.S. and
Britain used 1,100 to 2,200 tons of armor piercing shells made
of depleted uranium during attacks on Iraq in March and April
[2003] ­ far more than the 375 tons used in the 1991 Gulf War."
On February 2 of this year, Sara Flounders and John Catalinotto
of Swan's Commentary explained to America, "By now half of all
the 697,000 U.S. soldiers involved in the 1991 war have reported
serious illnesses. According to the American Gulf War Veterans
Association, more than 30 percent of these soldiers are
chronically ill and are receiving disability benefits from the
Veterans Administration." So, if they have used far more DU than
was used in 1991, we should expect far more disabilities, death
and chronic pain. That is the truth.

In October of 2003, Leuren Moret, an expert on depleted uranium,
informed us at the World Uranium Conference in Hamburg, Germany,
about Strontium-90 levels in baby teeth from children with
cancer. Moret states very clearly, "Since 1975, national rates
for children with leukemia have increased by 44% and for
children with brain cancer by 50%." In Moret's most recent work,
The Trojan Horse of Nuclear War, published in the Hamburg
Conference conclusions, she adds that, "There was never any
doubt about the great biological hazard of massive nuclear
fallout even before testing started. But there was little
concern about the global low level fallout from atmospheric
contamination by very small particles which remain suspended
until nucleating agents such as rain, snow and pollution remove
them from the air and deposit them in the environment, exposing
the global population to chronic low level radiation."

In addition to Moret, J. Gould's The Enemy Within illustrates
high-risk counties within 100 miles of nuclear reactors using a
map that plots breast cancer deaths that are reported annually
by counties to the CDC. In the western part of the U.S., the
locations of nuclear weapons labs and a few nuclear power plants
are indicated by the highest breast cancer deaths. These are the
newest victims of exposure to radiation. We know very well that
the mining of the uranium for decades has unduly harmed the
Native Americans who mined the ore. We know that the government
has used troops as guinea pigs in the proliferation of nuclear
weapons programs. Now as we accept our newest victims, women and
children of every race and class, it is imperative that we
recognize these radioactive weapons are omnicidal. That is the
truth.

In 1991, I served with the 24th Infantry Division, the most
criminally negligent division in Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
As a medic, I watched as soldiers walked into the carnage that
45 days of bombing had left in the southern part of Iraq and in
Kuwait. The signs and symptoms of the exposure appeared quickly
with countless troops vomiting and getting pale. Upon return I
experienced joint pains, extreme itching that would have me
shredding skin, and a feeling that resembled rubbing alcohol
burning a cut in the bottom of my stomach. There are countless
accounts of birth deformities and miscarriages in returning
soldiers. And women have often complained of pain after having
sex with returning front line soldiers.

In 1995, four years after I filed my complaint about my
recurring health problems with the Veterans Affairs, I was
finally tested for ionizing radiation, twice. Having never been
able to get my hands on the results, I am not sure what my true
uranium exposure was. However, since 1995 the VA has compensated
me for "undiagnosed illnesses." Funny, the VA will admit I am
sick, but they will only diagnose me as undiagnosed. I am a VA
statistic, which means I am on record as a casualty. However, my
stepbrother is not a VA statistic. He has the same signs and
symptoms I display, but is not one of the casualties. My
brother-in-law who served farther forward than I did is often
called an AIDS patient or cancer victim; he is a casualty who is
compensated at 100%. Sadly it took over a decade for the VA to
recognize his disability. Even sadder, they say he is not a
depleted uranium victim and will not test for ionizing
radiation. Three of my family members are sick, from the same
war, the same battlefield, and the same nuclear waste that is
being hurled at Iraq and Afghanistan currently. That is the
truth.

How? Why? Is this some sort of Joke? No. Depleted uranium is not
new. What is new is the disposal mechanism. In the 80's
then-President Reagan made a deal with Russia to stop developing
nuclear weapons. We know how short-lived that was. We know that
every treaty has been violated and nuclear proliferation is on a
rise again. What we didn't know, though, was the answer to the
question the environmentalists asked Reagan in the late 80's.
"Mr. President, what are you going to do with the waste of the
nuclear reactors?"

The President informed his citizens that he planned on sending
it to the moon or the bottom of the ocean. That is what they had
been doing for years; Reagan was the only person whoever felt
smart enough to tell anyone. Americans, who would have nothing
to do with this environmental desecration, put a stop to it. In
1997, Dan Fahey, cited in Metal of Dishonor, tells us that, "As
a result of 50 years of enriching uranium for use in nuclear
weapons and reactors, the U.S. has in excess of 1.1 billion
pounds of DU waste material." Of this incredible surplus of
radioactive waste, some has been buried in isolated spots and a
load of it has been used by the Department of Defense in its
weapons programs. The military uses this weapon because it is
armor piercing. If this weapon is intended for use against
armor, and we destroyed most of the Iraqi's armor in 1991, why
have we increased the use of it in Iraq from 375 tons to some
ambiguous amount? Why is it being dropped all over Afghanistan
where there is not one tank verified to be driven by the Taliban
or al Qaeda?

Dennis Kyne is a fifteen-year veteran of the United States Army.
His book Support the Truth is available at The Book Depot in
Colville, and at his Web site: www.denniskyne.com. It is
dedicated to the half million homeless veterans and depleted
uranium victims.